I caught a brief part of a newscast that said central air conditioning units would soon double in price due to new governmental regulations about efficiency.
Apparently, present day units would not be manufactured after December 2005.
Is this true?
My present unit (Trane) was installed in 1989 and is still working OK. Should I think about replacing it before price increase? I believe SEER is
12 on my unit??
B.S. - Some increase in price will occur for those who would otherwise purchase a 'low end' 10 SEER system, but for many buyers there may be a price decrease as competition for the new "entry level" systems heats up.
Don't bother.
I agree with Travis. The price will not go up on the existing units that meet the new minimums. It just means you will no longer be able to buy the cheap stuff, that likely would cost you more in the long run anyway. I suspect it will pay to wait as the low end stuff of the future will be today's mid line stuff and is likely to be cheaper than today.
This is Turtle.
You say you have a 12 seer unit already. well the new units that are the price is suppose to go to the moon is the 13 seer if you had bought one now a days. So price out a 13 seer in your system you have now and your looking at the new price that are suppose to go to the moon. So in so many words your going to have to buy a 13 seer and not a 12 seer like you got.
No , Don't replace anything if it is working good. If you have trouble get a new one but not for this seer rating raise to 13 seer. It should be a None Event.
Now if you want a 10 seer unit after January 2006 which burn 30% more electricity than a 13 seer. You may concider getting one before Jan. 2006.
TURTLE
This is Turtle.
Like you say there is a bunch of hoop-la going on but i have been contacted by a few churches with 3 phase equipment and was worried about the requirement changes and cost. After i discuss it with them a few minutes it becomes a non-event. Also I got a call to get a bid on a big church here of changing out the hvac equipment to the old stuff at about $35K before january 2006. I found out that a local turkey hvac person had told them that the equipment would tripple in price after jan. 2006. they have 3 phase Package units and I explained to the preacher that 3 phase equipment has nothing to do with the Regulation changes in Jan. 2006. The Preacher called the EPA phone line and confirmed these words of mine and he cancelled the Bidding process.
This SEER changing in January, I guess , is going to be used as a selling tool.
TURTLE
"TURTLE" wrote
We have a church in our area that had me come out and give them a price on
10 units they want to replace. I asked them what was wrong with the ones they have now. They said they were working fine, but they had heard that after the first of the year only 13 SEER (and up) were going to be available. Since their units were 15 years old, they wanted to replace them with 10 SEER units NOW since the 13 SEER units would cost more.Talk about preventative maintenance....
Did you sell them the 10 SEER, the 13 SEER, or neither?
They were told by other companies that they could not put a 13 seer with their present air handlers. I told them they COULD. They just wouldn't get
13 out of them. They want to buy the 10 SEER now at 10 seer prices.Go figure.....
Yeah. My "heart and soul" right now are the 12 seer American Standards and the 13 SEER Carriers.
Hey, Turtle. Can ya tell I'm doing sales now???
(Don't hate me. Still a tech at heart)
This is Turtle.
Well i will tell you this. I was told years a go with a big S to not tell a customer that they don't want or need a new system when they ask for one if it was just plain out wanting one. If they were being screwed by someone else and you stop it don't sell them one and tell them about it. OK but never stop a sale if the customer just said Hey i want a new one for you can loose a bunch of customers when you tell a customer no to what he wants. The customer is always right.
TURTLE
Wrong. Only if your contractor is out to screw you hard.
Wrong. Here is what is going on.
10, 11 and 12 SEER units are gone after Jan 1 2006 as far as being made. Most brands now are no longer being produced in 10SEER in preperation for this ruling. 13 SEER will be the new low ball unit. 10 SEER is currently. Now, if you want, or need a unit say, in March of 2006, and your contractor has a 10 SEER thats been sitting in his warehouse, he can legally install it. No problems there at all. It does not state that you cant have a 10 SEER, an 11 or 12 SEER unit installed...it states that the new min requirement for units will no longer be 10 SEER , but 13.
Dont replace what isnt broken , unless you have money to burn. If you had a
12SEER installed in 89, you were already ahead of most people as you didnt buy a bottom SEER unit. By todays standards, if you were to replace it, and upgrade, you would be looking at 14 to 16 SEER anyway, and these units will not be effected by the ruling that goes into effect Jan1, 2006 anyway.We havent installed anything lower than 13SEER in months anyway...as the prices on these units are actually dropping, not increasing...however, you compare the price of a 10 SEER unit to a 13, and of COURSE there will be a price difference..but double? Not in my wildest dreams.
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